Poor, Bright Suffer from RI Neglect

Year after year, Rhode Island lags far behind other states in supporting high-ability learners. Our state’s gifted-education policy was last revised in 1982, requires no specialized instruction for gifted students and – perhaps most telling – dedicates not a single dollar to gifted education. Teachers are not required to have any training in gifted education, and even the part-time state position focused on gifted has sat vacant for more than a year.

As of the most recent state report card issued by the National Association for Gifted Children, Rhode Island ranks at the bottom in nearly all categories, earning the state the dubious label of “most in need” with regard to critical indicators of quality gifted-education. Diana Reeves, Providence Journal 6/09/08